In fact, I would bet that 99.9% of all wholesalers could spend the some number of hours working at McDonalds and they would make more money.I recommend you focus on the house hack.

Until you spend 20k on paint and some new kitchen appliances, but the roof and foundation are still shot and the 100k ARV is more like 70k in reality.

For context, I’m active in Columbus, Ohio, but I also spend a lot of time in Miami, FL.

There are multiple billion dollar companies dumping money into the city, such as Intel, Google, Honda, and Amazon.

You must spend more than your net selling price.

If you have the time and want to spend the effort then doing it yourself is the way to go.

Note that if you are married filing joint, only the spouse who is qualifying for REPS is able to count their hours.Step 4: Apply the quantitative testsPer Section 469(c)(7)(B), in order to qualify for REPS, you must meet both of the tests below:750-Hour Test: If you materially participate in a real property trade or business, you must spend 750+ hours during the tax year.More Than Half Test: You must spend more than half of your personal service hours in the real property trade or business in which you materially participate.Step 5: Material participation in rental activities Just because you qualify for real estate professional status does not mean that your rental activities are automatically considered non-passive.

Once your unit is rented, where do you end up spending most of your time as an investor/owner?

And yes, it may be a good idea to work for a wholesaler first to get your feet wet.I don't think it's necessary to spend money to get your real estate license first. 

To reduce your tax bill, consider qualifying for Real Estate Professional Status (REPS) by spending 750+ hours on real estate activities, which reclassifies losses as non-passive.